John Hanning talks about WRP's Firday Night BBQ, March 27 at Sina's Back Roads Cafe.

Find local entertainment in Amador County with Chuck Boro!

All of today's Amador Live guests return for the show wrap-up.

Rotary District 5190 Annual Youth Instrumental Music Contest

Amador Upcountry Rotary Club is having a contest for solo instrumentalists, and you are invited to compete!

Area high school students, or home-school students 14-18 years old

March 26, 2015

Amador County Senior Center 6:30 PM

Club level held locally on March 26 at the Amador Country Senior Ctr.

District level (finals) on May 16, 2015 in Harrah's, South Lake Tahoe

You could win $1,000 for a 3 to 8 minute performance if you win First Prize at the District 5190 Contest in South Lake Tahoe on May 16, 2015.

Winner must be able to attend next level to qualify for price money.

If you are intersted and would like more information, pease contact: Kelly Wolin at AAA Insurance (209) 223-6908 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Plymouth, Ca; March 16, 2015 – As a result of a unique review process conducted for Amador Four Fires Wine and Food Festival by a distinguished panel of wine judges and sommeliers, more than 100 wines from 37 wineries have been selected to be poured at the event coming to the Amador County Fairgrounds May 2, 2015, 11 am to 4 pm. Tickets are currently on sale at amadorfourfires.com.

“The whole idea of Amador Four Fires is to showcase our county’s preeminent winemaking and winegrowing,” said co-Producer Deirdre Mueller, “inspired by wine regions of France, Iberia, Italy and of course our fabled California heritage wines. The wines selected in this review process beautifully showcase the extraordinary quality and depth of what our county has to offer.”

Wineries selected in the process include: Amador Cellars, Amador Foothill, Andis, BellaGrace Vineyards, Borjon, Bray Vineyards, Cooper Vineyards, Deaver, Dillian, Distant Cellars, Dry Town, Feist, Fiddletown Cellars, Gordon Binz, Helwig Winery, Il Gioiello, Jeff Runquist Wines, Legendre, Los Portales, Martin Lane, Miller Wineworks, Morse, Nine Gables, Renwood Winery, Scott Harvey, Sera Fina, Shenandoah Vineyards, Sobon Estate, Story, Terra d’Oro, Uphill Vineyards, Val Du Vino, Vino Noceto, Wilderotter, Winetree Farm, Yorba Wines, and Youngs.

All guests at A4F will be able to taste wines from each of these wineries, pouring in one or more of each of the regions. Most wineries will be represented in at least two to three of the four regions; some in all four. Guests who were able to obtain the coveted VIP Experience tickets, now sold out, will also be able taste special wines (reserves, estate bottling, library selection, etc.) from the sponsoring wineries, including from Presenting Sponsor Renwood Winery and Hosting Sponsors: BellaGrace Vineyards, Jeff Runquist Wines, Terra d’Oro Winery, Vino Noceto, and Yorba Wines.

The panel of judges and sommeliers, assembled by Amador Four Fires Festival’s Brian Miller, included: Jeff Back (Back Wine Bar), Carrie Boyle, Mike Dunne (Sacramento Bee), Martha Dunne, Bob Ecker, Colleen Ecker, Roger King, Laura Ness, Marcella Newhouse, Monty Preiser (Key to Napa Valley), Sara Preiser, Ted Reiger, Greg Richtarek (winemaker), Bruce Robinson, Marty Spate, Dan Stambaugh, Julie Thiebaut, Melissa Vogt, and Phil Werfelman (sommelier).

“The process of wine assessment we used, while different in many ways from the traditional award-by-consensus system common at wine competitions, turned out to be very revelatory,” said Miller. “We weren’t so much interested in giving ranked awards, as looking for those wines that best illustrated the style and standards of Amador County.”

Amador Four Fires Festival, a new concept wine and food festival designed to ignite your sense, is a veritable rural County Fair teeming with all things wine and food beckoning around every corner of its ten-acre Amador County Fairgrounds site. In addition to the wines poured by Amador's best wineries, guests will enjoy food inspired by the fiery traditions of cooking on an open flame from each of the four wine regions and prepared with high drama and culinary expertise by Amador’s finest chefs: Mark Berkner from Taste Restaurant, Beth Sogaard from Beth Sogaard Catering and Amador Vintage Market, showman Richard Lee from Wood Fire Smoke, and David Alvarez from Hotel Sutter.

In addition, Amador Four Fires offers a cornucopia of tantalizing activities for all the senses; an event-filled program full of fun, information, delicious foods and entertainment. Tastings explore everything from local olive oils, handcrafted candies, honeys, cheeses, cider and craft beer to some of the best wines vetted by a panel of judges. The exploration continues with multiple cooking demonstrations, including a cowboy campfire, a sensory station, and seminars covering topics from food and wine pairings, winemaking, tasting tips and “101” mini-courses. Rounding out the day are exclusive wine sales, a County Store, and live music at two venues.

Ticket price includes: Wine, food, commemorative glass, all activities and parking. $75 in advance, $85 at the door, $50 Designated Driver, available at amadorfourfires.com

Proceeds benefit the Amador County Fair Foundation. 

Sutter Amador Hospital salutes the members of our medical staff for their continued expertise, skill and compassion. Our hospital and community are better because of the tremendous difference doctors make in the lives of patients and family members every day.

Thank you for taking extraordinary care of our community! 

A child molester will be committed to a state mental hospital as a Sexually Violent Predator (SVP) after a judge found that the offender is a continued threat to children and the community. The Amador County District Attorney’s Office (ACDA) filed a petition to have Ricky Rodriguez, 49, committed as an SVP based on his prior convictions of sexual assaults against two boys, ages 7 and 13.  

On March 10, 2015 a court trial was held before the Honorable J.S. Hermanson who announced the verdict after hearing testimony from two appointed psychologists. 

Under the law, potential SVPs are subject to mental health reviews by the Department of State Hospitals prior to completion of their criminal sentence. If the People are able to prove that the defendant meets SVP criteria, a petition is filed to have the defendant civilly committed. There are three criteria that must be met in order to designate a person as SVP. First, the defendant must have committed at least one qualifying sexually violent offense. Second, he must be diagnosed with a mental disorder. Finally, it must be found that he is likely to re-offend unless he is held in custody and treated.

If a judge or jury finds beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant meets the SVP criteria, the defendant is committed to a secure mental care facility for treatment until he is safe for release.

Prior to 2008, persons committed as SVPs were entitled to a jury trial every two years and the burden of proof was on the People to show that the offender posed a continued threat to the community. In 2008, the law changed, committing SVPs to an indeterminate term. Once committed, the burden is on the offender to show that he is no longer a danger to society.

SVPs who have been civilly committed following a trial are granted an annual evaluation by a DSH psychologist, who will opine whether the patient still meets SVP criteria. The hospital director where the offender is housed will also make a recommendation as to the offender.

After the annual review, if the hospital director or psychologist believes that the offender’s condition has so changed that he no longer meets SVP criteria, the offender is granted a trial, where the burden is again on the People to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the offender meets the SVP criteria.

In 1987, Rodriguez was charged with 10 counts of child molestation involving two boys under the age of 14 in San Francisco County.  Rodriguez pled guilty to one count of lewd and lascivious act involving one boy who was 7 years old at the time.  The other counts, including one count involving a 4 year old, were dismissed.  Rodriguez was placed on probation for 3 years. 

In 1998, Rodriguez was charged with two counts of child molestation involving a 13 year old boy in Monterey County.  The victim reported an incident that had also taken place five years prior.  Rodriguez pled guilty to lewd and lascivious acts on a child under 14 and was sentence to 11 years in state prison.

While serving his Monterey County conviction in Mule Creek State Prison, Rodriguez was convicted of possessing drugs while in a state prison facility.  Because of the drug conviction, upon release from prison, Amador County obtained jurisdiction over the Sexually Violent Predator petition.